We all had our doubts when we first heard that Joel and Ethan Coen's masterpiece "Fargo" was going to get adapted for the small screen, courtesy of FX, but after the first episode of creator Noah Hawley's brilliant series adaptation, we were converted.
If you've yet to catch up to the FX show that bears the same name and style of dramedy as the Coen's 1996 Minnesota film noir masterpiece, then you are quite possibly missing out on the best show on TV. The first season was a home run, the second season was a near-miracle of multiple moving parts, maybe the best season of television since Season 4 of "Breaking Bad”, and, although the third season might not have satisfied every fan, including me, with its multitudes of ambiguities and unlikeable characters, it had its fair share of memorable moments.
Given the show's popularity, and the rave reviews that have greeted it over the last three seasons, you would think Hawley would be all for a fourth season happening, but his reluctance had been showing more and more ever since the final episode of season three aired almost two years ago.
Today we finally got word, and a trailer, for the much-anticipated fourth season. Titled “Year Four,” as creator Noah Hawley prefers to call it, this fourth season has Chris Rock heading the Kansas City mafia as they go to war with the Italian mob. Jason Shwartzman plays Josto Fadda, the son of an Italian crime boss, and Ben Wishaw is the criminally-induced Rabbi Milligan. Rounding out the cast are Jack Huston, E’myri Crutchfield, and Jessie Buckley.
Here's the official synopsis:
“In 1950, at the end of two great American migrations — that of Southern Europeans from countries like Italy, who came to the US at the turn of the last century and settled in northern cities like New York, Chicago — and African Americans who left the south in great numbers to escape Jim Crow and moved to those same cities — you saw a collision of outsiders, all fighting for a piece of the American dream. In Kansas City, Missouri, two criminal syndicates have struck an uneasy peace. One Italian, one African American. Together they control an alternate economy — that of exploitation, graft, and drugs. This too is the history of America. To cement their peace, the heads of both families have traded their eldest sons.”
The ambition and sheer scope of this series has been nothing short of groundbreaking and, although we still have a few unanswered questions about the last season, and the previous seasons before it, satisfying resolutions may never happen as the beauty of is that it is about the never-ending mysteries of life. Hawley's show casts a dark, almost miraculous spell thanks to its writing, acting, directing, cinematography, music and set design, which are all spot-on and in sync with its creator's artistic vision.
Fargo returns for Season 4 on Sunday, April 19th on FX